Last Song
by DD Agent
Summary: Team Gibbs are forced to provide security for a retirement party and Jenny and Jethro must survive their increasing attraction, espcially in front of the Director and Jenny's ex. The sequel to "Be Cool" from the '97 Series.


**Last Song by DD Agent**

_I do not own NCIS or any of its characters, or its settings - all belongs to the lovely folks at CBS. _

_I've finally written a sequel to _Be Cool_! About bloody time...hope you enjoy this!_

"Terrorists. Drug dealers. Serial killers." He sighed. "Gun fights, knife fights, bomb disposal. I can handle any of these. This - not so much."

Jenny Shepard was thankful she was sitting in the front of the car, not like Decker and Burley who were shoved in the back. They were growing sticky in their suits, Burley constantly reaching up to adjust his bowtie. Decker looked quite happy, wearing a pair of sunglasses as they drove along in Jenny's old Camaro. Seeing as it was her car, she had wanted to drive but Gibbs had taken the keys out of her hand. She hadn't been impressed with his actions, even though she was used to him driving. Just once she wanted to drive her own damn car.

"You don't want to go, we get it boss," Jenny snapped. Two weeks ago, Morrow had told them that they had to work security detail at the retirement party of a very prominent Admiral. SecNav and the Director would be there, as well as a ton of other high ranking Naval personnel.

What Jenny had not told Gibbs, nor Decker and Burley was that she wouldn't be working security, but would be attending as a guest. Admiral David Summers had been a close friend of her fathers, and she knew he would want her to see his old friend off. She also felt obliged to: Summers and his wife had been a godsend after her father had passed.

"So, do you reckon there will be eligible bachelorettes at this party?" Burley asked, pulling a stick of gum out of his pocket.

"There'll be friends and family of Admiral Summers. His daughter was a debutante."

"Seriously?"

Gibbs looked at her curiously from his place behind the wheel. Jenny seemed distracted, and not in a good way. Ever since Morrow had told them about the party, he had been thinking about Jenny and how she would look in a social setting. He'd seen her bloodied, beaten, and at work. He'd seen her in barely anything, laying underneath him while he tried to seduce her. His gaze drifted to the pretty lilac dress she wore, cutting just down over her knees. She looked beautiful. Of course, no place for a SIG.

"You okay, Shepard?" Jethro asked, resisting the urge to rest his hand over hers, or stroke her knee. They'd kept things professional since the surveillance operation. Unfortunately, they had been so busy with a multitude of cases since that they hadn't repeated the kiss or anything more.

"Yeah I'm fine." Now seemed like a good enough time to tell him. "Admiral Summers was a good friend of my father."

"Oh?" Gibbs made a sharp left turn and Jenny winced in pain for her car. She had learnt to drive in the damn thing, and was hoping to keep it in good condition to give to her own children. At this rate it would be left to the state in her will.

Jenny groaned as she realised Decker and Burley were growing interested in the conversation they were having at the front. Jenny fiddled with the bag on her lap that held her knife, her purse and her phone. "I'm going to the party as a guest, not as security detail."

If Jenny hadn't braced her hands on the dashboard, she would have hit her head as Gibbs put the brakes on the car. Burley smacked right into the back of Jenny's seat, cursing Gibbs all the way. Decker was crossing himself, and his use of his seatbelt.

"Jen, when were you planning to tell me this?"

"Now?"

Gibbs just growled and took his foot off the brake. Jenny sighed and shared a look with Decker in the rear view mirror. This party was going to _suck_. It was going to get worse when Jethro realised her ex boyfriend, Admiral Summers' son, was going to be in attendance as well.

She should have just stayed at home.

X

The Camaro came to a squealing stop as Gibbs parked up. He turned off the engine and slammed the car door behind him as he went to go sort out security. Jenny opened her door next, running after him. She couldn't cope with this party without knowing he had her back. Decker and Burley pushed the chairs forward and headed out the doors, Decker tripping as he got out.

"Jethro!"

Jenny ran after him in her heels until she found him hovering on the gravel driveway of the high end Virginian manor where the party was taking place. She managed to grab hold of his suit jacket and spin him around, just as he turned. He ended up with his arms around her, a position both of them found quite favourable.

"Did you bring a date for this thing, or did you think it would be in poor taste considering…?" He couldn't finish his sentence. She just shook her head, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders. She looked so beautiful.

Jenny reached up and kissed him on the cheek, her fingers running along the edge of his jaw. "I didn't bring a date, because I was sort of hoping that after this stupid party we could be alone."

Jethro raised an eyebrow, and Jenny just smirked. "That is, of course, whether you're still interested in finishing what happened in that apartment."

"You know I am."

Jenny took a step forward, reaching for Gibbs' belt. He gasped as she pulled herself flush against him. One hand ran down the white shirt he wore with his single colour tie - he hadn't liked the idea of wearing a bow tie. Her hand moved down to his crotch, but not to caress his growing erection. She really had no idea what she did to him.

Maybe she did as she fished out her car keys from his pocket and tossed them into her hand. "I'm going to drive home. I don't trust you with my car."

Jethro smirked, and he watched as Jenny tossed them in her purse where he thankfully saw she had brought her knife. Entangled around her wrist was a wrap, and he reached for it. Pressing close to her back, he wound the delicate fabric around her body, completing the look. He pressed a butterfly kiss to the back of her neck, and watched with some joy as Jenny shivered. She turned around to face him, her hands resting again on his shirt.

"You better go liaise with the rest of the security detail, Agent Gibbs," Jenny whispered. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "I hope you'll be watching my back tonight as well as the Director's."

"Always have. Always will."

She was a sight as she walked away from him into the country manor. He had to loosen his tie in order to breathe.

X

Jenny Shepard had suspected that the party would be awful. The car ride over had only supported her thoughts on the subject. But actually attending it was a nightmare. Several of her father's friends were there; the Army Colonel had worked closely with several high profile Navy men. Then there were the friends of her grandfather, the retired Navy High Admiral. Both of them should have been attending Admiral Summers' retirement party with her, but neither of them was there. Her father was six feet under in a coffin, and her grandfather was apparently in Monte Carlo according to his last letter.

"Jenny," Marie Summers greeted with a kiss to the cheek. She reached for her hands and squeezed them, the typical sympathetic gesture from her. "You look lovely. How is your work at NCIS going?"

She nodded, putting on her party face. "It's going very well, thank you Marie. Challenging, but I couldn't imagine another job."

"That's wonderful! Although, I'm sure with your gift of languages you could work as an analyst somewhere. How many languages can you speak now?"

Jenny flushed as Marie led her away from her spot in the corner into the main throng of the party. It was being held outside, a pretty garden party for a sunny afternoon. Both women nodded at several mutual acquaintances as Marie led her to the bar.

"Four, now," Jenny admitted. "Bilingual in French and Italian, I have a good knowledge of Hebrew and I'm teaching myself Arabic."

Marie nodded and smiled, not really listening. Just making conversation, like most of the high ranking military wives at public events. Her mother had been the same when she had gone with her father to such things. Jenny hated them, hated talking about things that had no bearing to her. Shoes and bags she could talk about for hours, but the women preferred to gossip and discuss their husbands and their careers rather than the new pair of heels Jenny was trying to save up for.

"Can I get you a drink, Jenny?" Marie asked.

"Martini, isn't it?"

Jenny turned to her left, not missing the smirk from Marie in her peripheral vision. This was a set up. Adam Summers joined them at the bar, looking dashing in his tuxedo and his crooked bowtie. He was a mirror image of his father, with dark hair and golden brown eyes. Jenny knew he was a charmer, and they'd got to know each other very well while studying Law at Georgetown. When she'd left to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, she'd left Adam as well.

The bartender started to make her martini, but Jenny rested her hand over his. "Bourbon please, no ice."

When Jenny turned to her left, she saw that Marie had gone. Adam was just standing there, looking at her drink curiously. She took a sip, enjoying the rich taste.

"Since when did you switch to bourbon?" Adam asked, grinning at her.

Jenny smiled. "My partner at NCIS drinks it, and I just got hooked."

Adam ordered himself a martini. Jenny leaned against the bar, and forced a smile as Adam slid next to her. She didn't see a wedding ring on his finger, and she distantly remembered hearing his last serious girlfriend was over a year ago. Marie was probably desperate to marry him off.

"So how are things working for you at NCIS?" Adam asked, reaching over to take her drink and put it on the bar behind them. His fingers stroked hers as he did it.

"Good. They're working out really well."

Adam chuckled. "That's really good Jenny. You know, after I finished my law degree, Mom suggested I become a JAG. Dad said he couldn't think of a thing worse for me to be. So I'm a partner in a small DC firm, and I've got a couple of offers from some big fish too."

"You've got the whole package then?"

He smiled at her, a smile that had once disarmed her. That was before her father had killed himself, before she had found things more interesting than rich military boys with matriarch funded trust funds.

"Nearly."

Jenny looked up from the bar to see that Tom Morrow had arrived, and the SecNav Charles Myers too. Jethro was close by Morrow, and was watching her with a face that was growing more disappointed by the minute. Jenny sighed and reached behind her to take a strong gulp of her drink. It was going to be a long party.

X

He had known from the moment Morrow had announced the party that it would be bad. And so far, it sucked. There were eight NCIS agents who had been assigned as Morrow and SecNav's protection detail amongst the military officers and private security also in attendance. Pacci and Wood were the two agents on personal duty with Morrow, Clark and Simmons were with SecNav. Nash, himself, Burley and Decker were to mingle around the party and make sure everything was going okay.

"Another drink, sir?"

One of the waiters at the shindig offered him another glass of champagne. Jethro took it, pissed that it wasn't bourbon. He'd quite happily down that rather than the bubbly that the waiters kept dishing out. The garden party was in full swing with waiters going around with canapés, glasses of champagne and trying to keep most of the guests to the covered area near the house where the party and the bar was. However, some of the guests had broken out into the large adjacent garden. That was where he now sat, ruminating on his relationship with Jenny.

"Having a good time, Agent Gibbs?"

Jethro looked up to see Tom Morrow come and sit down with him on the steps near the swimming pool. He passed him a glass of bourbon, and they clinked glasses. Gibbs looked around but couldn't see any sign of Pacci or Wood. Morrow noticed his constant gaze, and smiled.

"It seems that Admiral Summers' daughter, Claudia, was a debutante and brought several of her friends," Morrow stated. Jethro smirked. "I do believe my Agents are hypnotised. Still, at least it means I get some peace at this god awful party."

Jethro chuckled, shaking his head at his colleagues. "I'll have words with my team tomorrow, sir. I'm sure Burley and Decker are enjoying the magic show too."

Morrow nodded. "Agent Burley, certainly, but then he's a probie. Agent Decker is doing his duty. He's a good agent, pity he had to leave San Diego."

Jethro looked up at Morrow, his interest piqued. He had known Will had come from San Diego and had worked at the branch since he had started a few years ago. Jethro had always been under the assumption that Will had felt like a change of pace, or been offered the chance to work for the DC MCRT. He hadn't realised he'd had to leave California for some serious reason.

"He didn't kill anybody, if that's what you're worried about," Morrow joshed, hitting Jethro with his elbow. "You should ask him about it; it's really not my place to tell you." Tom looked past him and started to smile. "I may not have been on board about your relationship to start with, but the two of you work exceptionally well together."

Gibbs followed his gaze and saw that Jenny had appeared. She caught sight of them and waved at them both. Morrow coughed and decided to stand up, his knees clicking. "Dammit, Jethro, I'm getting old." He patted him on the shoulder. "Make sure she isn't harassed too much. I personally know she'd rather be working the weekend shift than attending this party. If Admiral Summers wasn't a family friend, she probably would have done."

He watched as Morrow walked away, nodding to Jenny as she walked over to him. Jethro felt better knowing that Jenny hadn't really wanted to be at the party, even though a part of him had already known that to be true. She sat next to him, her hands wringing themselves in her lap. Jenny had her head bowed, and Jethro looked her over, making sure that the guy at the bar hadn't laid a hand on her. Eventually she looked up to meet his eyes, her red hair coming down in front of her face. Jethro took the opportunity to push it back behind her ear, stroking her cheek in the process.

"The guy at the bar…"

She swallowed. "Adam Summers. Ex boyfriend of mine. I broke up with him a long time ago." She shrugged her shoulders. "He's still interested."

"Are you?"

He sounded like a jealous idiot, and he felt that way too. He seemed to be a jealous man - he'd been furious when she had started dating that JAG. But this was different: they'd now kissed, accepted that they wanted each other. Jethro risked a glance over her and swallowed at the look of lust that she was throwing him as she shifted closer and pressed her hand to his knee. He watched as her lower lip quivered as she came to him. They hadn't kissed since the apartment, and Jethro wanted to feel her lips against his more than he wanted to breathe.

Jenny closed her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering against her skin. Jethro watched as her mouth moved closer to his, and he smiled. His hand rested against the curve of her cheek and brought her to him. He took one more sweet look at her before closing his own eyes and moving his mouth over hers. His lips kissed her bottom one, softly caressing her skin. Jethro continued to stroke her cheek, slowly kissing her bottom lip. Jenny kept sighing softly, so much so that he used his bottom lip to push up her top and press a little more forcefully onto her mouth. Just as his tongue touched hers, a rustling from one of the adjacent bushes broke the kiss.

Opening his eyes, Jethro witnessed a blush breaking out over Jenny's face. She gripped his hands and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"That answer your question, boss?"

He smirked, enjoying how his lips tingled. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Yeah, it does, Shepard." Jethro grinned. "After this, do you want to come back to mine? Bourbon, maybe some Chinese?"

"Are you inviting me to spend the night, Special Agent Gibbs?" Jenny asked; her cheeks flushing as she leaned in close to his mouth again.

Jethro waggled his eyebrows, his wide grin trying to mask how nervous he felt. He got so nervous around her, even though he was a Federal Agent who had been married three times. But Jenny made him nervous, because she was nervous too. Because they were both so damn worried about their relationship not working out.

"I am." Jethro smiled. "I want us to try this. I want to spend the night with you."

Jenny leaned in to kiss Jethro again when the rustling from the bush increased. Jethro reached for his gun, and Jenny stood behind him, trying to find her knife. Suddenly, two figures burst from the bush. Gibbs pointed his gun at them, and the woman in the pair screamed. Jenny recognised the half dressed woman as Claudia Summers. Both of them recognised the man with his pants round his ankles.

"Nice boxers, Burley!" Jenny teased, looking at the little _Looney Tunes_ underwear he was wearing.

Jethro cursed and grabbed Burley by the ear. He hoisted him from the floor and hurled him onto the steps. He put his gun away, but his stare was just as effective. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING BURLEY?"

"I'm s-sorry…"

Jenny snorted and turned away, the sound of the head slap making her wince. It was bad enough he'd left his post to have some al fresco sex, but to break a Gibbs rule as well? Stan was lucky he wasn't being keelhauled. She turned to Claudia, who was looking scared. "You could do better, Claudia. I'd go back to the party now."

The young woman nodded and rushed back as quickly as she could to her father's retirement party. Jenny turned back around to see that Jethro was glaring at Burley until he ran off, pulling up his tuxedo pants and desperate to save the SecNav and the Director from fictional assassins. Once that was dealt with, Jethro turned around and smirked at Jenny.

"Now, where were we?"

X

Once his dignity had been regained, Stan Burley found his partner by the bar. Will Decker was drinking a coke, deciding to remain sober unlike his colleagues. He was constantly checking the mirror behind the bar, looking for any signs of assassins, terrorists or over amorous military wives. He seemed to attract them. Will looked over Stan, noticed the couple of leaves in his hair and the flush of the retiring Admiral's daughter.

"You _didn't_."

Stan chuckled. "You know, Decker, you may find you feel better if you get laid once in a while."

Will swallowed a gulp of coke harshly, tearing at his throat. "You know, Stan, not everything is about sex."

His partner laughed even harder, and Will wanted to bury himself in his coke. He hated situations like this, hated feeling like a loser. He wasn't - he had a degree and a masters, he'd had girlfriends before. He supposed he was a bit of a geek - he liked reading crime novels and had a thing for dinosaurs but he could be a badass when he wanted to be. When he came in front of Burley, however, he felt like a sixteen year old boy with a bad haircut and a face covered in pimples.

"That's because you haven't had any in a thousand - wow. She is _fine_." Will followed Stan's gaze and both of them observed the woman coming towards them.

Will supposed she was pretty. Thick blonde hair, pink dress that showed off the right amount of legs and cleavage without being slutty. She was smiling in their direction, and Burley kept moving his hands through his hair, trying to brush the leaves out of them.

"You're a pig."

Stan ordered two glasses of wine at the bar and turned back to the woman. He straightened his bowtie as she came closer. "I know. But at least I'll spend tonight in bed with a woman. You'll spend it in bed with your toy Tyrannosaurus Rex."

The woman finally made it to them, and smiled coyly at them. "Hi there. Do you wanna buy me a drink?"

Burley was about to pass over a glass of wine when he realised the woman was looking at Decker. She moved forwards to the senior NCIS agent, putting her hands on his chest. Stan looked open mouthed at what he considered to be a mistake, or Decker's entire wages gone to waste. Then he caught sight of Gibbs heading in his direction and he scarpered, off to see if everything was okay with the SecNav.

"So how about that drink?" the woman asked.

Decker shook his head, turning back to the bar. "You'd have better luck elsewhere."

He went back to his coke, and looking in the mirror above the bar. He could see his boss watching him out of the corner of his eye, and Decker tried to ignore the stare. Jethro was wondering how little he knew Will Decker.

X

They'd gone back to the party for a few moments, and Jethro had gone off to see if the Director was okay. She hadn't caught sight of the retiring Admiral yet, he seemed so busy. Adam kept looking for her, and she decided it would probably be best for both her and Jethro's sanity if she kept out of his way. Plus, she needed some time to mentally prepare for that night. Her. Jethro. Bed. She kept thinking about what he would be like, how he would feel against her skin.

It was how Jenny Shepard came to be sitting in a deserted part of the garden feeling quite flushed.

"I've been looking for you."

Jenny looked up to see Admiral David Summers come and sit by her. He was wearing his uniform, which looked incredibly loose on him. Jenny hadn't seen the Admiral since her father's funeral, and he had looked awful then. Jenny had just attributed it to losing his friend - she hadn't looked too hot at that time either.

"Happy to be retiring?"

Summers grinned. "Golfing, relaxing at home with Marie…I hate it. But I'm getting too old, too weak to work anymore." He swallowed what Jenny knew to be one of several vodkas. "But that's the way forward - they need young blood in the Navy. How are things going at NCIS?"

Jenny smiled, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She shifted in her seat, looking once again at the Admiral's drink. "They're going good. It's a great job, teaching me a lot."

"Surprised you didn't go into Army CID. But I suppose your Grandpa was a Navy man."

She snorted, looking at Summers with an amused expression. "You think Army CID would take a Shepard?"

Summers smiled as well, resting a light hand on Jenny's shoulder. He seemed calmer now, seemed less drunk. She had never felt so sorry for anyone in her entire life. "For what it's worth, Jenny, I didn't think your father took the bribe. I always considered him an upstanding man, and I know you did too."

There was some rustling in the trees and Jenny really hoped Burley wasn't out there with another woman. But it was just Adam. He smiled when he caught sight of her and his father.

"Hey, Mom's looking for you."

Summers nodded and Jenny had to help him off the bench. His wrists felt so frail. "Good, good. I'll leave you two alone, I'm sure you've got a lot to catch up on."

Jenny was about to leave too, but Adam seemed happy to see her. She supposed she could spend some time catching up; Jethro would probably be busy enough with Burley and Decker for a while. Adam sat on the bench, his hand resting next to hers. He grinned at her, then ducked away. Jenny didn't feel the nervousness that she had experienced earlier with Jethro, just uneasiness. She supposed that was normal when you saw an ex boyfriend.

"Been looking for you for a while."

"Been checking in with my friends." Jenny swallowed. "NCIS have a presence here."

Adam smiled, nodding along. He then turned to her, excited. "Hey, you don't work with that old guy, do you?"

Jenny looked confused, was he talking about the Director? "Old guy?"

He grinned again. "Yeah, you know the guy. Grey hair, scowl on his face. Wore a tie instead of a bowtie. What an idiot."

Jenny bristled at the disregard he gave Jethro. So what if he was older than Adam, or indeed her? Jenny was tempted to say that she was sleeping with him, just to wipe the smug look off his face. Perceptions had changed over the years, and she was finding herself growing annoyed by the friends and lovers she had once found comfort in. He reached over and pulled some hair off her face. "You are so beautiful, Jenny."

She looked down at her feet, shivering a little. "Thank you, Adam."

He shifted across the bench and Jenny felt him put an arm around her back. She knew she should pull him off, but she was frozen. Instead she just turned to her old boyfriend, swallowing. Adam reached over and put his other hand on her cheek, stroking the flushed skin.

"Adam…I'm with someone," Jenny said truthfully, wishing for Burley to fall out of a bush.

He shrugged and moved closer to her, practically sitting in her lap. "Jen, I miss you. And you can't deny you miss me. You joining NCIS was obviously a way to get close to Dad, to get close to me." How had she ever dated him? Did she just seem to attract arrogant assholes? "Your plan worked."

The next thing Jenny felt was Adam pressing his mouth against hers. Jenny tried to struggle against the former wrestling champion, but found herself overwhelmed by Adam's pushiness. He had never been like this before, but then maybe she had grown up in the years since they had broken up and he had not. Jenny found her purse in the confusion, and just as Adam reached forward to grope a breast, Jenny managed to put her knife, her birthday present from Jethro, against her ex boyfriend's throat. He stopped immediately.

"You ever touch me without me asking you to again, I'll either slit your throat or cut your penis off. And it won't be your choice."

She kicked him in the chest away from her and stood up; pulling her now ruined lilac dress down her legs. She held her knife out in front of her, and Adam was looking at her like she had gone crazy.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He stumbled away from the bench and went off cursing her name, going back to his father's retirement party. Jenny spun the knife around on her finger before putting it back on her purse. She sat back on the bench, thinking about the horrible taste she had in men. Finally alone, Jenny allowed herself to shed a couple of tears.

X

The party was ending and Tom Morrow could _not _be happier. He was proud of _most _of his agents; he would be having words with Stan Burley come Monday morning. But on the whole, he was a happy man. The Summers family had already left, the son looking particularly harassed. Morrow would say that he had run into Gibbs, but the mildly dishevelled appearance of Jenny Shepard retreating to a corner told him otherwise.

"Hey Tom," Charlie Myers greeted. There were a few stragglers staying at the hired house, but not many. The SecNav himself was heading home with his wife. Tom had no one to go home to. "Listen, have you thought anymore about that European operation?"

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. The suggested European Operation was driving him insane. SecNav had come up with the idea for NCIS to go undercover in Europe and weed out arms dealers and terrorists. It was a team operation, with a primary base in Paris and undercover links to travel over Europe and gain information and kill if necessary. The primary base would have to be a couple, and Tom didn't think of any two NCIS agents who had the necessary chemistry to work as a couple and pull it off.

Looking up, he could see one of his agents, Jethro Gibbs, messing around with a radio. He then saw Jenny Shepard by the French doors, smiling at him. Jethro took her hands and dragged her out onto the empty dance floor, and put his arms around her. They danced in a circle, listening to the faint love songs that had been played during the party. Tom noticed that both of them had their eyes closed.

It was a risk. He knew the two were close; they were friends as well as partners. And after the brutal start to the year, Tom had known they were tighter than steel. They had chemistry, hell he'd even stuck twenty dollars on them getting together before autumn hit. He was sure they could do it; he just wasn't sure whether they could keep their emotions in check.

"I've got a few candidates in mind. Let me get back to you."

Charlie coughed. "Okay, but soon, alright? I want this Europe op up and running by the end of August."

"I understand."

X

Decker and Burley were already on their way home, and he was waiting around for Jenny. She had his ride, and he wanted to take her back to his. Or back to hers, she probably had clean sheets on the bed. She probably had _sheets _on the bed. Maybe they'd order in, crack open a bottle of wine or champagne or something - make the occasion special. After all, he was only going to get one first night with Jenny Shepard. He _wanted_ it to be special.

"Hey," he heard Jenny from behind him.

Jethro turned around and saw his partner. She looked harassed, some gravel was embedded in her knee, her hair was a little mussed and her eyeliner had run. "Jenny? What the hell happened?"

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. "Just come to the conclusion that I don't fit in with this crowd anymore. People like Adam Summers and Jack Chrysler…they're really not who I am anymore. Probably never who I was, even when I thought I was…" She shook her head and laughed. "I'm not making a lot of sense. I just know that I belong with you."

Jethro grinned, his fears about the evening fading away. Jenny stumbled over to him and he wrapped his arms around her. He heard her voice mumble against his chest. "Could we put a rain check on tonight? I just want to go home, take a bath, drink a lot of bourbon and watch a film."

"On your own?" Jethro asked, pulling back and looking at her with a bright smile.

Unfortunately, Jenny nodded, tucking her hands under her armpits. "I wanted tonight more than anyone, Jethro. I just need a little space after threatening my college boyfriend with a knife."

He chuckled. "Take all the time you need. Probably best not to rush this anyway." Jethro smiled and looked down at his shoes. He would get his chance with Jenny, and he would make sure that it was perfect. There were only a handful of people left, and Jethro was struck by an idea to not make this whole affair a complete write off. "I've barely seen you this evening, been too busy yelling at Burley. Do you want to dance with me? First song on the radio."

Jenny put her hands behind her back and looked at him with the cutest smile he had ever seen. "I'd love to."

Jethro went over to the radio in the corner and turned the dial. He smiled as _Take my Breath Away _by Berlin came on, happy with the choice.

"Dance?" He asked his partner, offering his hand.

"It's not quite _An Officer and a Gentleman, _but _Top Gun _will do."

Jenny smiled as she moved into Jethro's arms. It felt so warm in them, with one hand on his shoulder and the other in his own. One of his arms was wrapped around her body, holding her so close to him. All they could hear was the music, the dull of the party drifting off as the evening came.

Jenny leaned her head on Jethro's shoulder, letting him move them to the music. She closed her eyes, feeling so happy in his arms. She had danced with men before, but everything felt so much better with Jethro. She felt safe, wanted. She had found her place beside him. She opened her eyes momentarily, wanting to see if he was enjoying it as much as she was. Jenny smiled as she saw that he was resting on her head with his eyes closed too, his smile so sincere.

Jenny closed her eyes again, letting Jethro sway them to the music. Their perfect moment.


End file.
